Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1887-08-24
OUR BEST SOCIETY.
Good Books Place All intellectually on a
Common Level.

| WIN DLJI DVS1ElIs
Good Books Place All intellectually on 8
| Common Level.
| Rev. E. r. Ollie lectured last evening II
the Sixth-street Methodist Church on lou,
Best Society" His reputation as lecturer
was sufficient to draw good audience, and
all went away satisfied with his effort
which was rare intellectual treat. The
published announcement of the subject OF
his lecture brought out a large number who
expected very different discourse to the
| one listened to. He started in by saving
God be thanked for books. He who has
good books has intellectual companionship,
even though poverty should exclude him
from what is termed the best society in the
community in which he resides. The best
society that any person can have is books,
printed literature, and the greatest blessing
of the present age is the printing press'
The first book printed in England con-
tanned 600 pages, its publication took ten
years and 1t cost fortune. In 100 twenty
volumes was looked upon as an extensive
library. The cost of bible in those times
was more than mans yearly salary. To-
day many young men cannot afford to go
to college, but for dollar or two they can
purchase the
WORKS OF THE GREATEST AUTHORS,
And compel those great teachers to in
struct him, deliver up the cream of their
lives, hear them say the best things. For
purposes OF knowledge it is better to have
their books than their personal acauaint-
ance. While we might be charmed with
their conversation and brilliancy of wit
whiie their words may fall like pearls of
wisdom from lips touched with genius,
sui their books are preferable to their
companionship. No man is a hero to his
own valet. Their books never stoop to
our level, and often much of their beauty
is marred by personal acquaintance of the
author. The speaker related several anus
ing sketches illustrative of this point. A
well-selected library of useful books is the
provision store for the nobler part of man.
They give us the garnered wisdom of ages.
make us the contemporaries of every age.
and the citizen of every country. Good
books are immortal, like souls, for, like
souls, they are
NEyER-DYING THOUGHTS.
1t takes eighty days to make a circuit of
the globe by the most approved methods of
travel, while the student can take his globe
and atlas and make the trip in forty min
utes. The alphabet is a ticket that admits
to the lnnermost resources of thought, puts
the poor boy who reads by the light of a
burning Knot on a level with the Duke of
Argyle-on perfect level with the masters
OF all time. There can be no aristocracy
of mind, no aristocracy of soul, no monop-
oily of learning. The printing press has
demolished all intellectual lines. A man
can hoard his money, build q castle, wall
1t IN, shut out the world from his floral
conservatory, but if he build temple
OF thought you have the key to it. If he
writes book, delivers lecture. breaches
sermon, the world will claim it as its own.
The speaker gave an interesting sketch of
the great authors of the past and present
ages, of the progress in literature and print
ing and description of the early libraries.
The largest library theworld has ever known
is the Imperial, of Paris, which contains
100000 volumes, 100 miles of shelving
and over 100000 acres of printed matter. 1t
would take rapid reader over 5000 wears
to read that collection of books. The
literature of to-day is falling from the
printing presses throughout the world
LIKE LEAVES IN AUTUMN.
The Boston library contains $50 900 vol
umes; the Congressional, $4,000; Yale
Collese, upwards of 100000. Single copies
of books now published, if put together,
would girdle the ear at the equator. OF
the books that are being published to-day,
~ per cent. are worthless. The question
Is, not what we shall read, but
what shall we not read There is
nothing gained by promiscuous and hasty
reading. When you hear an individual
Boosting of his extensive and wide range
OF reading you can put him down to be
like the river Platte-all width and no
depth. Reading without reflection is like
the eating of a glutton. A great reader
does not make great mind, reading is
only good as we work it up into mental
fiber. Novel reading was injurious, but
the only kind of literature some individ-
uals care for. An eminent author once
said that
NOVEL READING
Was like sitting down on a hornets nest
stimulating, but not nourishing. Another
eminent author, in speaking of ON
nivorous reading, said if he had
read as much as some men
he would know as little While he
spoke against fiction he did not condemn
all, for some had accomplished good re-
suits. John Wesley wrote a romance;
the parallels of the bible must come under
the same head. Novel reading he re-
garded as an intellectual vice, leads to
mental imbecility and spiritual death, and
destroys all taste for solid reading. lie
spoke against fash literature, the French
novels and dime novels, and quoted
many instances where the inception of
crime was traced to this evil. 1t
is astonishing how little our young men
know about the country in which they
live, its government, its history, its extent,
resources and development. and at the
same time how much they know about
baseball. They can tell you the name of
every pitcher on the diamond, and still are
ignorant of the most commonplace in
formation regarding their own country,
and could not answer inteligently single
question asked by an Eastern visitor. He
named large number of authors that
should be read, and said above all read the
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